Working poor by occupation in 2004

In 2004, workers in occupations requiring higher levels of education and offering higher earnings had a lower incidence of being poor.

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Management, professional and related occupations had the lowest working-poor rate—1.9 percent.

The proportion of workers classified as working poor was highest for those employed in service occupations; at 11.2 percent, their rate was twice the average for all workers.

Individuals who had worked in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations also had an above-average working-poor rate—7.3 percent.

The data were collected in the 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. For more information see A Profile of the Working Poor, 2004, Report 994 (PDF 87K). As defined in this report, the working poor are individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work), but whose incomes fell below the official poverty level.